| 1. |
- Drew, David A., et al.
(författare)
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Aspirin and NSAID use and the risk of COVID-19
- 2021
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Early reports raised concern that use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may increase risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) disease (COVID-19). Users of the COVID Symptom Study smartphone application reported use of aspirin and other NSAIDs between March 24 and May 8, 2020. Users were queried daily about symptoms, COVID-19 testing, and healthcare seeking behavior. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to determine the risk of COVID-19 among according to aspirin or non-aspirin NSAID users. Among 2,736,091 individuals in the U.S., U.K., and Sweden, we documented 8,966 incident reports of a positive COVID-19 test over 60,817,043 person-days of follow-up. Compared to non-users and after stratifying by age, sex, country, day of study entry, and race/ethnicity, non-aspirin NSAID use was associated with a modest risk for testing COVID-19 positive (HR 1.23 [1.09, 1.32]), but no significant association was observed among aspirin users (HR 1.13 [0.92, 1.38]). After adjustment for lifestyle factors, comorbidities and baseline symptoms, any NSAID use was not associated with risk (HR 1.02 [0.94, 1.10]). Results were similar for those seeking healthcare for COVID-19 and were not substantially different according to lifestyle and sociodemographic factors or after accounting for propensity to receive testing. Our results do not support an association of NSAID use, including aspirin, with COVID-19 infection. Previous reports of a potential association may be due to higher rates of comorbidities or use of NSAIDs to treat symptoms associated with COVID-19.One Sentence Summary NSAID use is not associated with COVID-19 risk.Competing Interest StatementJW, RD, and JC are employees of Zoe Global Ltd. TDS is a consultant to Zoe Global Ltd. DAD and ATC previously served as investigators on a clinical trial of diet and lifestyle using a separate mobile application that was supported by Zoe Global Ltd. Other authors have no conflict of interest to declare.Clinical TrialNCT04331509Funding StatementZoe provided in kind support for all aspects of building running and supporting the app and service to all users worldwide. DAD is supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases K01DK120742. CGG is supported by the Bau Tsu Zung Bau Kwan Yeu Hing Research and Clinical Fellowship. LHN is supported by the American Gastroenterological Association Research Scholars Award. ATC is the Stuart and Suzanne Steele MGH Research Scholar and Stand Up to Cancer scientist. The Massachusetts Consortium on Pathogen Readiness (MassCPR) and Mark and Lisa Schwartz supported MGH investigators (DAD CGG LHN ADJ WM RSM CHL SK ATC). CMA is supported by the NIDDK K23 DK120899 and the Boston Childrens Hospital Office of Faculty Development Career Development Award. Kings College of London investigators (KAL MNL TV MSG CHS SO CJS TDS) were supported by the Wellcome Trust and EPSRC (WT212904/Z/18/Z WT203148/Z/16/Z T213038/Z/18/Z) the NIHR GSTT/KCL Biomedical Research Centre MRC/BHF (MR/M016560/1) UK Research and Innovation London Medical Imaging and Artificial Intelligence Centre for Value Based Healthcare and the Alzheimers Society (AS-JF-17-011). MNL is supported by an NIHR Doctoral Fellowship (NIHR300159). Work related to the Swedish elements of the study are supported by grants from the Swedish Research Council, Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation and the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (LUDC-IRC 15-0067). Sponsors had no role in study design analysis and interpretation of data report writing and the decision to submit for publication.Author DeclarationsI confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.YesThe details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:Participants provided informed consent to the use of app data for research purposes and agreed to privacy policies and terms of use. This research study was approved by the Partners Human Research Committee IRB 2020P000909 Kings College London Ethics Committee REMAS ID 18210 Review Reference LRS-19/20-18210 and the central ethics committee in Sweden DNR 2020-01803All necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived.YesI understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance).YesI have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines and uploaded the relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material as supplementary files, if applicable.YesData collected in the app is being shared with other health researchers through the NHS-funded Health Data Research U.K. (HDRUK)/SAIL consortium, housed in the U.K. Secure Research Platform (UKSeRP) in Swansea. Anonymized data is available to be shared with bonafide researchers HDRUK according to their protocols (https://healthdatagateway.org/detail/9b604483-9cdc-41b2-b82c-14ee3dd705f6). U.S. investigators are encouraged to coordinate data requests through the COPE Consortium (www.monganinstitute.org/cope-consortium). Data updates can be found on https://covid.joinzoe.com.
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| 2. |
- James, Sarah-Naomi, et al.
(författare)
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A population-based study of head injury, cognitive function and pathological markers.
- 2021
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Ingår i: Annals of clinical and translational neurology. - : Wiley. - 2328-9503. ; 8:4, s. 842-856
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To assess associations between head injury (HI) with loss of consciousness (LOC), ageing and markers of later-life cerebral pathology; and to explore whether those effects may help explain subtle cognitive deficits in dementia-free individuals.Participants (n=502, age=69-71) from the 1946 British Birth Cohort underwent cognitive testing (subtests of Preclinical Alzheimer Cognitive Composite), 18 F-florbetapir Aβ-PET and MR imaging. Measures include Aβ-PET status, brain, hippocampal and white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volumes, normal appearing white matter (NAWM) microstructure, Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related cortical thickness, and serum neurofilament light chain (NFL). LOC HI metrics include HI occurring: (i) >15years prior to the scan (ii) anytime up to age 71.Compared to those with no evidence of an LOC HI, only those reporting an LOC HI>15years prior (16%, n=80) performed worse on cognitive tests at age 69-71, taking into account premorbid cognition, particularly on the digit-symbol substitution test (DSST). Smaller brain volume (BV) and adverse NAWM microstructural integrity explained 30% and 16% of the relationship between HI and DSST, respectively. We found no evidence that LOC HI was associated with Aβ load, hippocampal volume, WMH volume, AD-related cortical thickness or NFL (all p>0.01).Having a LOC HI aged 50's and younger was linked with lower later-life cognitive function at age ~70 than expected. This may reflect a damaging but small impact of HI; explained in part by smaller BV and different microstructure pathways but not via pathology related to AD (amyloid, hippocampal volume, AD cortical thickness) or ongoing neurodegeneration (serum NFL).
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| 3. |
- Kennedy, Beatrice, 1982-, et al.
(författare)
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App-based COVID-19 syndromic surveillance and prediction of hospital admissions in COVID Symptom Study Sweden
- 2022
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 13:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The app-based COVID Symptom Study was launched in Sweden in April 2020 to contribute to real-time COVID-19 surveillance. We enrolled 143,531 study participants (≥18 years) who contributed 10.6 million daily symptom reports between April 29, 2020 and February 10, 2021. Here, we include data from 19,161 self-reported PCR tests to create a symptom-based model to estimate the individual probability of symptomatic COVID-19, with an AUC of 0.78 (95% CI 0.74-0.83) in an external dataset. These individual probabilities are employed to estimate daily regional COVID-19 prevalence, which are in turn used together with current hospital data to predict next week COVID-19 hospital admissions. We show that this hospital prediction model demonstrates a lower median absolute percentage error (MdAPE: 25.9%) across the five most populated regions in Sweden during the first pandemic wave than a model based on case notifications (MdAPE: 30.3%). During the second wave, the error rates are similar. When we apply the same model to an English dataset, not including local COVID-19 test data, we observe MdAPEs of 22.3% and 19.0% during the first and second pandemic waves, respectively, highlighting the transferability of the prediction model.
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| 4. |
- Lee, Karla A., et al.
(författare)
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Cancer and Risk of COVID-19 Through a General Community Survey
- 2021
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Ingår i: The Oncologist. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1083-7159 .- 1549-490X. ; 26:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Individuals with cancer may be at high risk for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and adverse outcomes. However, evidence from large population-based studies examining whether cancer and cancer-related therapy exacerbates the risk of COVID-19 infection is still limited. Data were collected from the COVID Symptom Study smartphone application since March 29 through May 8, 2020. Among 23,266 participants with cancer and 1,784,293 without cancer, we documented 10,404 reports of a positive COVID-19 test. Compared with participants without cancer, those living with cancer had a 60% increased risk of a positive COVID-19 test. Among patients with cancer, current treatment with chemotherapy or immunotherapy was associated with a 2.2-fold increased risk of a positive test. The association between cancer and COVID-19 infection was stronger among participants >65 years and males. Future studies are needed to identify subgroups by tumor types and treatment regimens who are particularly at risk for COVID-19 infection and adverse outcomes.
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| 5. |
- Louca, Panayiotis, et al.
(författare)
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Modest effects of dietary supplements during the COVID-19 pandemic : Insights from 445 850 users of the COVID-19 Symptom Study app
- 2021
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Ingår i: BMJ Nutrition, Prevention and Health. - : BMJ. - 2516-5542. ; 4:1, s. 149-157
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives Dietary supplements may ameliorate SARS-CoV-2 infection, although scientific evidence to support such a role is lacking. We investigated whether users of the COVID-19 Symptom Study app who regularly took dietary supplements were less likely to test positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Design App-based community survey. Setting 445 850 subscribers of an app that was launched to enable self-reported information related to SARS-CoV-2 infection for use in the general population in the UK (n=372 720), the USA (n=45 757) and Sweden (n=27 373). Main exposure Self-reported regular dietary supplement usage (constant use during previous 3 months) in the first waves of the pandemic up to 31 July 2020. Main outcome measures SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed by viral RNA reverse transcriptase PCR test or serology test before 31 July 2020. Results In 372 720 UK participants (175 652 supplement users and 197 068 non-users), those taking probiotics, omega-3 fatty acids, multivitamins or vitamin D had a lower risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection by 14% (95% CI (8% to 19%)), 12% (95% CI (8% to 16%)), 13% (95% CI (10% to 16%)) and 9% (95% CI (6% to 12%)), respectively, after adjusting for potential confounders. No effect was observed for those taking vitamin C, zinc or garlic supplements. On stratification by sex, age and body mass index (BMI), the protective associations in individuals taking probiotics, omega-3 fatty acids, multivitamins and vitamin D were observed in females across all ages and BMI groups, but were not seen in men. The same overall pattern of association was observed in both the US and Swedish cohorts. Conclusion In women, we observed a modest but significant association between use of probiotics, omega-3 fatty acid, multivitamin or vitamin D supplements and lower risk of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2. We found no clear benefits for men nor any effect of vitamin C, garlic or zinc. Randomised controlled trials are required to confirm these observational findings before any therapeutic recommendations can be made.
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| 6. |
- Mazidi, Mohsen, et al.
(författare)
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Diet and lifestyle behaviour disruption related to the pandemic was varied and bidirectional among US and UK adults participating in the ZOE COVID Study
- 2021
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Ingår i: Nature Food. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2662-1355. ; 2:12, s. 957-969
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Evidence of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health behaviours in the general population is limited. In this retrospective longitudinal study including UK and US participants, we collected diet and lifestyle data pre-pandemic (896,286) and peri-pandemic (291,871) using a mobile health app, and we computed a bidirectional health behaviour disruption index. Disruption of health behaviour was higher in younger, female and socio-economically deprived participants. Loss in body weight was greater in highly disrupted individuals than in those with low disruption. There were large inter-individual changes observed in 46 health and diet behaviours measured peri-pandemic compared with pre-pandemic, but no mean change in the total population. Individuals most adherent to less healthy pre-pandemic health behaviours improved their diet quality and weight compared with those reporting healthier pre-pandemic behaviours, irrespective of relative deprivation; therefore, for a proportion of the population, the pandemic may have provided an impetus to improve health behaviours. Public policies to tackle health inequalities widened by the pandemic should continue to prioritize diet and physical activity for all, as well as more targeted approaches to support younger females and those living in economically deprived areas.
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| 7. |
- Merino, Jordi, et al.
(författare)
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Diet quality and risk and severity of COVID-19 : a prospective cohort study
- 2021
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Ingår i: Gut. - : BMJ. - 1468-3288 .- 0017-5749. ; 70:11, s. 2096-2104
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: Poor metabolic health and unhealthy lifestyle factors have been associated with risk and severity of COVID-19, but data for diet are lacking. We aimed to investigate the association of diet quality with risk and severity of COVID-19 and its interaction with socioeconomic deprivation. DESIGN: We used data from 592 571 participants of the smartphone-based COVID-19 Symptom Study. Diet information was collected for the prepandemic period using a short food frequency questionnaire, and diet quality was assessed using a healthful Plant-Based Diet Score, which emphasises healthy plant foods such as fruits or vegetables. Multivariable Cox models were fitted to calculate HRs and 95% CIs for COVID-19 risk and severity defined using a validated symptom-based algorithm or hospitalisation with oxygen support, respectively. RESULTS: Over 3 886 274 person-months of follow-up, 31 815 COVID-19 cases were documented. Compared with individuals in the lowest quartile of the diet score, high diet quality was associated with lower risk of COVID-19 (HR 0.91; 95% CI 0.88 to 0.94) and severe COVID-19 (HR 0.59; 95% CI 0.47 to 0.74). The joint association of low diet quality and increased deprivation on COVID-19 risk was higher than the sum of the risk associated with each factor alone (Pinteraction=0.005). The corresponding absolute excess rate per 10 000 person/months for lowest vs highest quartile of diet score was 22.5 (95% CI 18.8 to 26.3) among persons living in areas with low deprivation and 40.8 (95% CI 31.7 to 49.8) among persons living in areas with high deprivation. CONCLUSIONS: A diet characterised by healthy plant-based foods was associated with lower risk and severity of COVID-19. This association may be particularly evident among individuals living in areas with higher socioeconomic deprivation.
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| 8. |
- Molteni, Erika, et al.
(författare)
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SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) infection in pregnant women : characterization of symptoms and syndromes predictive of disease and severity through real-time, remote participatory epidemiology
- 2020
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- BACKGROUND: From the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic, pregnant women have been considered at greater risk of severe morbidity and mortality. However, data on hospitalized pregnant women show that the symptom profile and risk factors for severe disease are similar to those among women who are not pregnant, although preterm birth, Cesarean delivery, and stillbirth may be more frequent and vertical transmission is possible. Limited data are available for the cohort of pregnant women that gave rise to these hospitalized cases, hindering our ability to quantify risk of COVID-19 sequelae for pregnant women in the community.OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that pregnant women in community differ in their COVID-19 symptoms profile and disease severity compared to non-pregnant women. This was assessed in two community-based cohorts of women aged 18-44 years in the United Kingdom, Sweden and the United States of America.STUDY DESIGN: This observational study used prospectively collected longitudinal (smartphone application interface) and cross-sectional (web-based survey) data. Participants in the discovery cohort were drawn from 400,750 UK, Sweden and US women (79 pregnant who tested positive) who self-reported symptoms and events longitudinally via their smartphone, and a replication cohort drawn from 1,344,966 USA women (162 pregnant who tested positive) cross-sectional self-reports samples from the social media active user base. The study compared frequencies of symptoms and events, including self-reported SARS-CoV-2 testing and differences between pregnant and non-pregnant women who were hospitalized and those who recovered in the community. Multivariable regression was used to investigate disease severity and comorbidity effects.RESULTS: Pregnant and non-pregnant women positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection drawn from these community cohorts were not different with respect to COVID-19-related severity. Pregnant women were more likely to have received SARS-CoV-2 testing than non-pregnant, despite reporting fewer clinical symptoms. Pre-existing lung disease was most closely associated with the severity of symptoms in pregnant hospitalized women. Heart and kidney diseases and diabetes were additional factors of increased risk. The most frequent symptoms among all non-hospitalized women were anosmia [63% in pregnant, 92% in non-pregnant] and headache [72%, 62%]. Cardiopulmonary symptoms, including persistent cough [80%] and chest pain [73%], were more frequent among pregnant women who were hospitalized. Gastrointestinal symptoms, including nausea and vomiting, were different among pregnant and non-pregnant women who developed severe outcomes.CONCLUSIONS: Although pregnancy is widely considered a risk factor for SARS-CoV-2 infection and outcomes, and was associated with higher propensity for testing, the profile of symptom characteristics and severity in our community-based cohorts were comparable to those observed among non-pregnant women, except for the gastrointestinal symptoms. Consistent with observations in non-pregnant populations, comorbidities such as lung disease and diabetes were associated with an increased risk of more severe SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy. Pregnant women with pre-existing conditions require careful monitoring for the evolution of their symptoms during SARS-CoV-2 infection.
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| 9. |
- Molteni, Erika, et al.
(författare)
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Symptoms and syndromes associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection and severity in pregnant women from two community cohorts
- 2021
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 11:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We tested whether pregnant and non-pregnant women differ in COVID-19 symptom profile and severity, and we extended previous investigations on hospitalized pregnant women to those who did not require hospitalization. Two female community-based cohorts (18–44 years) provided longitudinal (smartphone application, N = 1,170,315, n = 79 pregnant tested positive) and cross-sectional (web-based survey, N = 1,344,966, n = 134 pregnant tested positive) data, prospectively collected through self-participatory citizen surveillance in UK, Sweden and USA. Pregnant and non-pregnant were compared for frequencies of events, including SARS-CoV-2 testing, symptoms and hospitalization rates. Multivariable regression was used to investigate symptoms severity and comorbidity effects. Pregnant and non-pregnant women positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection were not different in syndromic severity, except for gastrointestinal symptoms. Pregnant were more likely to have received testing, despite reporting fewer symptoms. Pre-existing lung disease was most closely associated with syndromic severity in pregnant hospitalized. Heart and kidney diseases and diabetes increased risk. The most frequent symptoms among non-hospitalized women were anosmia [63% pregnant, 92% non-pregnant] and headache [72%, 62%]. Cardiopulmonary symptoms, including persistent cough [80%] and chest pain [73%], were more frequent among pregnant who were hospitalized. Consistent with observations in non-pregnant populations, lung disease and diabetes were associated with increased risk of more severe SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy.
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| 10. |
- Murray, Benjamin, et al.
(författare)
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Accessible data curation and analytics for international-scale citizen science datasets
- 2021
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Ingår i: Scientific Data. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2052-4463. ; 8:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Covid Symptom Study, a smartphone-based surveillance study on COVID-19 symptoms in the population, is an exemplar of big data citizen science. As of May 23rd, 2021, over 5 million participants have collectively logged over 360 million self-assessment reports since its introduction in March 2020. The success of the Covid Symptom Study creates significant technical challenges around effective data curation. The primary issue is scale. The size of the dataset means that it can no longer be readily processed using standard Python-based data analytics software such as Pandas on commodity hardware. Alternative technologies exist but carry a higher technical complexity and are less accessible to many researchers. We present ExeTera, a Python-based open source software package designed to provide Pandas-like data analytics on datasets that approach terabyte scales. We present its design and capabilities, and show how it is a critical component of a data curation pipeline that enables reproducible research across an international research group for the Covid Symptom Study.
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